calliecritturs
Posted : 7/12/2010 11:58:26 AM
She right -- you are looking for a plain holistic vet then the AHVMA site is VERY good. However, for a TCVM vet the Chi Institute gives you a darned good chance at finding someone pretty well qualified and *good*.
Chi Institute -- locator on left
Actually, this can get complicated and I'm at work. I like to tell people to call as many as they can and DON'T try to just go to whoever is closest.
1. You DON'T want the token person in a big practice who does acupuncture. NOPE. (Particularly not for the seizure stuff you're dealing with). That person usually isn't free to **PRACTICE** the totality that should be Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine - cos the other vets there do lots of vaccines, chemicals, etc. and typically that "token" person just isn't able to really do the full range of TCVM.
2. You don't want the person who "dabbles" in TCVM. Honestly, what you're looking for may be the lone wolf who doesn't have a big practice but TCVM is pretty much ALL they do (they might do chiropractic or some other stuff) -- they probably don't do surgery, they probably don't do "regular" vet stuff. You want the person who is SO convinced of it that they have dedicated their practice to it IF YOU CAN FIND THEM.
3. The little symbols are "extra" accreditations -- they indicate EXTREME study in that area. That can be a big plus -- but on the other hand I've seen it be someone who has simply built a huge practice around themselves and it's just another designation *sigh*.
4. Some of these vets may have an office and some staff -- some of them DON'T. Some of them may just have a cell phone and go TO people rather than having you come to an office. They might have a receptionist who is "protective" and who may be abrupt on the phone --
FEEL FREE to tell them that you have a friend who is yanking your chain about this who is one of Dr. Connie DiNatale's patients and who also has seen Dr. Xie (Billy is Dr. Xie's poster dog for IMHA/anemia -- he actually uses Billy's pictures in his lectures LOL).
Dr. Xie (say "shay";) is the head honcho -- The Chi INstitute is his brainchild. Dr. DiNatale is one of his teachers -- if you look at that "Faculty" link you'll see both Dr. Xie's picture and Dr. DiNatale's.
Dr. Chrissman is also on that list -- and SHE ROCKS as far as herbals. She's the one who actually teaches, right from the podium at the University of Florida to use drugs LAST and use the herbals FIRST.
Dr. Chrissman was head of the Neurology Dept at UF before she retired last year. Dr. Clemmons is the head neuro-surgeon at UF -- BOTH are on the faculty of the Chi Institute.
What I'm saying is -- it's pretty well known out there that acupuncture and Chinese herbals are AWESOME for seizure activity. And if they are certified thru the Chi Institute they should be pretty comfy with that AND they also know that they've got Xie, Chrissman and DiNatale (and others) to back them up when prescribing this stuff.
Like I said -- call me if you want. There is kind of an art to picking one of these vets and it's not always evident. I've seen people go to a TCVM vet and think they were the biggest waste of time on the planet. Other times I've seen people fall in love instantly with one of these vets. It's all about finding the right one for you and your dog.
So feel free to pick my brain. Megan is also good at this -- she's actually had Pirate SEEN by Dr. Xie up at the Institute (she and I did a road trip for that and it was AWESOME).
But I can explain to you on the phone more of what I meant about how they diagnose. It is COMPLETELY different. It *should* be anyway. BUT there is also some real wisdom in getting bloodwork done (often it will simply confirm what the TCVM vet will tell you).